The new Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari, has said that his ministry would endeavour to speed up the implementation of projects in the road and shipping sectors and would not tolerance any delays.

Speaking to newspersons soon after holding discussions with senior officers of his ministry, Gadkari said that all projects would be approved in a fully transparent manner through e-governance mechanism.

Road Concrete_ProjectsMonitorThe minister said that his ministry would look into the capital and maintenance costs of concrete roads vis-à-vis tar roads. He laid emphasis on use of inland waterways and coastal shipping for cheaper and environment-friendly transport. For instance, vehicles manufactured in Delhi could be transported through coastal shipping from Gujarat to Chennai and vehicles manufactured in Chennai could be brought to the Northern Capital Region through the same route. The ministry would look into the possibility of enhancing coastal shipping from 7 per cent to 20 per cent.

On other issues, the minister said that the possibility of bringing E-85 engines, presently used in some of the western countries for vehicles, to India would be explored. These engines use 85 per cent ethanol and 15 per cent petrol.

He also said that his ministry would coordinate with the Ministries of Environment and Forests, Tourism, Power, and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation for development of transport and tourism along the river Ganga. He said secretaries of these ministries could jointly work out a mechanism for the purpose.


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